Discussions

[falconscastle1]

I have a non-Roku standard TV.  I am using a Roku Soundbar and am happy with it’s operation.

The question I have is every once in a while we need to switch over to antenna because our provider is broken(constant buffering).  No biggie.

But,  no sounds come out of the Roku Soundbar.  So,  I guess my question is how can I make the Roku Soundbar to be JUST a soundbar.

Thanks!

[RokuTannerD]

@falconscastle1 Thanks for the note here. When you say you don't hear any audio, you are watching antenna TV on the TV itself? 

Is your Roku Smart Soundbar connected to an HDMI ARC capable port on your TV? Have you also tried connecting it to your TV via the optical audio cable? 

If you aren't hearing audio when using the TV as the playback source, it's likely that you may not have connected the Soundbar to an HDMI ARC capable port on the TV. I would recommend checking this, or connecting the Soundbar to your TV using the included optical audio cable. 

You can see more about how to set up your Soundbar with a non-Roku TV here: https://support.roku.com/article/360034302873-how-do-i-set-up-my-roku-smart-soundbar-with-my-non-rok...

Keep us posted! 

Thanks,

Tanner

[falconscastle1]

Ok.  The Roku Soundbar works perfectly when I use it as a Roku Soundbar on my non- Roku TV.  Using the Roku wireless internal to the Roku Soundbar.  Video snd audio all good.  Make sense?

But,  when I want to use my antenna and not the Roku Wireless that’s in the Roku Soundbar - in other words - I want to use the Roku Soundbar as JUST a soundbar.

When I try to do that,  the video thru the antenna works fine.  But,  no sound comes out of the Soundbar.

Question,  how do I use the Roku Soundbar as JUST a soundbar?

Thanks!

[RokuTannerD]

@falconscastle1  How is your Soundbar connected to your TV? You should be able to use the Soundbar for audio from the TV if it is connected to an HDMI ARC capable port on your TV. Or, you can connect the Soundbar to your TV using the included optical audio cable. If you use an HDMI ARC connection, you'll also want to make sure that HDMI ARC and CEC are enabled in your TV's settings.  We'd recommend checking with your TV manufacturer for help confirming if your TV supports HDMI ARC connections, and adjusting settings accordingly if so. If that isn't an option for your TV or it doesn't support HDMI ARC or CEC, you'll want to use the optical audio cable to connect your TV to your Soundbar.

This is likely a connection configuration issue that may be preventing audio from properly being sent to your Soundbar from the TV, based on how it is connected. 

Thanks,

Tanner

[gppinAZ]

Tanner, I’m not a tech, and even ai understood this question. What is not clear is why you won’t answer it. If the soundbar is connected and works, while the set is receiving tv (I guess via cable) but when the input is switched to antenna, nothing else changes, the sound goes away. W H Y? And can that be addressed?

[Tivoburkee]

Yes, you're guessing, you're not the OP,  you have no idea how the soundbar is wired to the tv. The OP in their two posts doesn't mention how its wired if its connected to audio out of the tv which is only way you'll receive audio from other devices connected to the tv. 

[falconscastle1]

I guess that I should update this thread.

I connected the optical cable from the audio output to the audio input of the TV and disconnected the HDMI from the soundbar to the TV.

Works great!

[Panto_Pianist]

I can confirm it does work fine connected via HDMI (without the need for optical) for sound only for terrestrial / antenna TV or a blueray/dvd player etc. You just need to make sure it’s connected to the HDMI port that’s marked ‘ARC’ or ‘eARC’ - most TVs have one HDMI port marked ARC, unless it’s very old, in which case optical will work if it has that.